EU fines Mastercard $648M over cross-border barriers

The European Commission said on Tuesday it had fined Mastercard 570.6 million euros ($648.3 million) for limiting the possibility for merchants to benefit from better conditions offered by banks elsewhere in the European Union.

Continue Reading Below

"By preventing merchants from shopping around for better conditions offered by banks in other member states, Mastercard's rules artificially raised the costs of card payments, harming consumers and retailers in the EU," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.

It has, for example, taken decisions to make legally binding commitments by Visa Europe to cap the levels of interchange fees for all debit and credit card transactions within the European Economic Area.

It has also looked into the fees charged on card payments made by tourists visiting the European Union.